My Second SoundBirth

My First SoundBirth
My initial SoundBirth experience was truly ecstatic. It took place at home, in water, accompanied by the harmonious tones of a crystal singing bowl—until the inevitable primal scream at the end! Remarkably, it was a shorter labor than my previous two, which were also home births. I attribute this to the power of vocalisation and the crystal singing bowl. Inspired to share these incredible tools, I created "SoundBirth – Sing Your Baby to You."

My Second SoundBirth
A week ago, my second "SoundBirth" and fourth home birth journey began. Throughout the day, I spent time with my sisters, enjoyed a walk, and reveled in the anticipation of everything starting to unfold! The "toning" didn't really kick in until the contractions intensified that night. That's when I invited my older daughters, aged 10 and 8, along with my mother and sister, to take turns playing the singing bowl with each contraction. I hummed softly, letting out gentle 'Oh's and 'Ahh's. The harmonious blend of my voice with the bowl's resonance was as mesmerising as during my previous labour. The slight discordance with the bowl's pitch created those amazing "wah wah wah" sounds—a truly unique experience. These were the sounds of my early labor.

Performance Anxiety
The pace seemed to decelerate early Saturday morning once the midwife came, and as the kids and my husband woke up. My exhaustion from a sleepless night might have contributed to that feeling. My usual "performance anxiety" began to kick in too. The unpredictability of my contractions was unsettling; I wished they were more frequent and intense. Fatigue was setting in, and I feared I wouldn't be able to endure much longer unless progress was made. The last thing I wanted was to be transferred to hospital.

I decided to go into the shower just to get some space from my kids (who were being lovely of course giving me pictures they had drawn, giving me drinks etc…) and people watching me…waiting for me to DO something! I cried my eyes out in there…BIG sobs. I wanted to hide, to be left alone. I didn’t want people worrying about me. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!! I got out and my midwife Clare reminded me that I can birth in my own time and that my body is tired and just needs a rest. So I lay on the bed with Steve and tried to sleep. No contraction for half an hour! “That’s ridiculous (my inner critic remarked!). I’m getting up and out of here!”

The Power of Nature
So, I went for a walk with Mum around our backyard surrounded by bush. There were ducks in the old dead tree (strange), it was cold, the finches were tweeting and watching, the dog was in the garage so he wouldn’t irritate me! I started having more contractions. This is when my sounds started to become more should I say…”juicy”? and not so pretty …’Oh’ sounds, groaning sounds, sometimes balling my eyes out sounds. It hurt! Really, really hurt AND I was SO tired.

Then the sun came out. The beautiful warm, healing sun. The warmth became my hot water bottle on my back. It was SO soothing. I remember thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great if all labouring women could experience this…the sun, the trees, the birds…” Being surrounded by nature reminded me that what I was doing was part of nature. I felt connected to everything and so grateful for the strength and wisdom that nature seemed to bless me with in that moment. I realised I was actually going to have a real baby in my arms very soon…So I balled my eyes out about that…

I laboured outside on the veranda for a while. The midwives bought everything outside just in case THIS was the birth spot. The bowl came outside too (giving my hubby something to do). It really made such a big difference when that bowl played. It accompanied my crazy sounds. It switched off the outside world. I could go inwards and express whatever sounds that wanted to come out and when the contraction was over, we talked, we joked, we laughed and sometimes I sobbed… Then the sensation came again. The bowl played. I released the pain, the tension, the emotions with my voice and then returned back to my family, midwives, the ground beneath my knees…

Too hot outside. Back inside.
It’s amazing how ultra-aware you become when in labour. I knew what I needed to do or not to do in each moment. And throughout this labour it seemed to change all the time! Normally I would just be in one room submerged in the warm soothing water in the birth pool. Not this time…I didn’t want to go near the pool. Instead, I went from one room to the next like a cat does before giving birth until I found the perfect place – on my bed. This was it. This is where I had decided to put all my energy into pushing my baby out! Liza (my backup midwife) played my largest bowl (18 inch), Clare encouraged me and massaged my bum reminding me to relax (how vulnerable we become in labour!), Mum came in occasionally to see how I was going and giving me rescue remedy, the kids popped their heads in sometimes then went off to play with my amazingly entertaining sister, and Steve stood next to the bed so I could lean on him during each contraction. I moaned, groaned, screamed, sobbed, winged, toned, made up silly sounds and laughed like a crazy woman…whatever I felt I needed to express, I let out with the sound of the bowl accompanying me.

That Bowl!
The bowl was amazing. It was the one constant throughout the labour. Clare noticed that it seemed to give me power and strength when played louder so Liza went for it! It was SO loud that I thought the windows might shatter! I said near the end that I can’t wait until it’s quiet! I was sick of hearing myself make so much noise and just wanted some peace!! Clare thought I meant that I don’t want the bowl to be played anymore. So, there was one contraction with no bowl, and it was awful (it seemed longer and more painful) so I insisted it was played again. It was me I was me I was sick of hearing…not the bowl. The bowl was my lifeboat, my safety net, …and I NEEDED it to keep me going.

Screaming my baby to me
Not long after my waters broke…SPLASH underneath me! Hooray! What a release that moment was! I think I cried again…knowing what was coming next… And sure enough a few contractions later I had to do the really big ‘poo’ and I screamed my baby’s head out. Thank God for that! The kids came running in to see their new baby’s head sticking out of my “bum” (as my 3-year-old says), watching her turn herself before the next contraction and I screamed my baby to me… into my arms. “Is she OK? Is she breathing? Waaaa… Thank goodness…” What a relief when you realise that the birth is almost over (placenta still to come) and your baby is perfect. What a miracle. I sat there sobbing my eyes out…again…in shock, disbelief and relief. I had finally birthed my baby…I had found that massive amount of power I had within and needed to allow my body to open up and give birth. I did it! No one else…just me and my baby…a bowl…and an awesome support team of course! Another girl! Four beautiful girls all born safely and naturally at home.

Birth is awesome, a miracle, powerful, painful (sorry…but it is!), a mystery, beautiful…and I am so grateful to have experienced birth in all its glory.

Welcome little Ruby to our family.

Written May 2013